I'm 90 years old and still walk competitively. You can get hooked, too
Whenever someone says I'm an old person, I have a rejoinder: I'm not an old person. I'm an older person.
Age is all relative. When I started racewalking at the age of 50, there were a couple of guys in my club who were 70. I thought they were ancient. Now I see 70-year-olds and think they're young. As I said, it's all relative.
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When I was 50, my brother told me that someone had come to town to introduce the sport of racewalking. It was Debbi Lawrence, the American woman's representative at the Olympics for racewalking. She and her husband started a walking club in the Kansas City area.
I joined the Heartland Racewalkers Club right away and did it just for fun. That was 40 years ago. I was hooked.
Everybody thinks I'm a role model because I'm 90, but when I joined the club, it included a woman who started at 75 and was still competing at 95. She's my role model. She lived to 103.
I'd only been walking for a couple of years when I entered a 15K that benefited the children's hospital at Duke. That's around nine miles, a little more distance than I was up to at the time. There must have been 900 people in that race, and I was dead last. I got to see the motorcycle come up behind me. That was a lesson in humility. Mike Krzyzewski, Duke's basketball coach, was also in that race.
At least I can say I was in a race with him!
But I didn't stop. I kept getting faster and began entering local, state and regional competitions. At 58, I was faster than I was at 50.
This year, at the age of 90, I won gold in the 3,000-meter walk at the World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships in Florida (ages 90-94). I'm now doing 28 miles a week in preparation for the National Senior Games in Des Moines, Iowa, in July.
I love multiple aspects of walking. It's a form of exercise and can also serve as a social activity. It expanded my friendships. You'll meet men and women of all ages to connect with.
One year, I had to go to Seattle and noticed a woman who lived there had been written about in all the racewalking papers. I'd never met her and knew nothing about her other than she was an excellent racewalker. So I wrote to her, out of the blue, and said: 'I'm coming to Seattle. Is there some place I can walk with you?' She agreed and recommended we walk around Green Lake.
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Isn't that great?
I've also studied walking and am aware of its scientific benefits. It's good for your heart and brain. However, there are other reasons I continue to like it.
Walking outdoors enables you to appreciate the world. I notice animals, plants, trees and all parts of nature. Current studies show that getting away from the hustle and bustle of life can be good for people's brains.
My curiosity drives me to explore new neighborhoods. Some people don't understand this and ask me: 'Where are you going to walk today?' Since I'm always looking for new areas to explore, I'll say, 'I'm not sure.'
When I go out, I do it on an ad hoc basis. I wait to see what's going on — if there's a car before me, I'll go somewhere else. I've explored almost all the neighborhoods and trails in metropolitan Kansas City. I've been around the block a few times.
I have walked in diverse places, such as on the Great Wall of China, around the zoo in Berlin, along Copacabana Beach in Brazil and the Danube in Budapest. All you need is a pair of good shoes.
I don't listen to anything when I walk, although many people do. I like to have free-floating thoughts. Other sensations will distract me. In addition to the added safety, I can appreciate my surroundings. A fancy name for it is mindfulness. I don't use that term, but I like to see and experience what's around me.
I have only two rules for new walkers starting. The first rule is: Don't hurt yourself. I've seen people go out and overdo it. When you're injured, you lose interest.
If you don't have much experience, start with something comfortable and then gradually increase your pace and duration by about 10 percent per week. That's a general rule. If you keep it up for several weeks, soon you'll be doing something twice as much as you used to do.
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Some older people get tired walking around the block once. To deal with that, you can practice going half a block at first, then one block and keep adding blocks (or miles) over time. I did a marathon when I was 66. It just took a long time to train. You can do it.
The second rule: You've got to have fun.
If you don't hurt yourself and you're having fun, you can do it for the rest of your life. That was also true in my professional life. I was an academic researcher and teacher in medical schools. Because I enjoyed what I was doing, I would often go into my office on Saturdays; I remain engaged in research to this day. I don't get paid, but I love it.
Same thing with racewalking. If you're doing something you're passionate about, that's great for you; you can do it for a lifetime.
Here's what I want to add: People continue to rediscover truths that have been known for ages. Almost every week, somebody reports on all the benefits of walking. You can go back centuries to see philosophers and creative thinkers who walked. Why were they doing it? They weren't doing it to get into racewalking. However, racewalking has allowed me the additional pleasure of competing with like-minded friends.
I'm old enough to have witnessed many changes, but walking remains an eternal truth.
Looking to get out and walk? Try Peak's 7-day walking challenge here.
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